Robbed of his precious daughter by a killer driver, Michael Tate says he never got justice for his little girl.
Melissa Tate was just 10 years old when her life was snatched away by hit and run road menace Connor Marsden. The schoolgirl suffered fatal injuries was hit by Marsden's van near her home in Kenton, Newcastle.
Marsden, who had been travelling at more than twice the 20mph speed limit fled the scene leaving Melissa dying on the roadside. Yet Marsden was locked up for just seven years and four months after admitting a string of driving offences, including causing death by dangerous driving, at Newcastle Crown Court.
But a new act that came into force last month increased the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving from from 14 years to life imprisonment. The new maximum sentence has also been updated to life for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of alcohol or drugs under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
And Michael has welcomed the change, which he hopes will give other families the justice Melissa was denied. The 35-year-old said: "I can't understand why they get to live the rest of their lives while the rest of us suffer.
"I have lost everything thanks to him. It's too little too late for me, but I hope it will make a difference to other families. I never felt like we got justice, not one bit Everyone tried their best, but there was only so much the judge could do."
Melissa was on her way home from a friend’s house when she was struck by the Renault Kangoo van on September 25, 2019. The Mountfield Primary School pupil was taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, but nothing could be done to save her life.
Her family spent the next day, which was her little sister Lili’s ninth birthday, saying their goodbyes. They consider September 27 to be the anniversary of her death as it was the day her heart beat for the last time before her organs were donated.
Marsden, of Ambridge Way, Kenton, was arrested the day after the collision on Hillsview Avenue. CCTV footage showed the 24-year-old had been drinking in the hours before the collision.
Marsden pleaded pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while uninsured, causing death by driving while unlicensed, having no insurance, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
Marsden pleaded pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while uninsured, causing death by driving while unlicensed, having no insurance, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
As well as the prison sentence he was banned from driving for eight years and seven months.
Michael says he hopes the new tough sentences will act as a deterrent, but he fears they could have little impact on selfish drivers like Marsden, who should not have been on the roads at all.
"Anything that can make the roads safer is a good thing, if it can help just one family then that's something," he said.
"But it doesn't matter how long they are behind bars, at the end of the day you have still lost your pride and joy."
Last week the Sentencing Council launched a consultation of a package of 12 new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of motoring offences.
The proposals include updated versions of six current guidelines, published in 2008, and reflect the new life sentences brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
The proposed guidelines reflect this change and include revised sentencing ranges of up to 18 years in custody.
Five new guidelines have also been proposed for new offences created since the current guidelines were published. They include causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which has a proposed sentence range of up to five years’ custody, and causing serious injury by driving while disqualified, which has a proposed sentence range of up to four years’ custody.
There is also a new guideline to bring consistency to sentencing offenders convicted of causing injury by wanton or furious driving where a motorist causes injury or death off-road such as in a field or dirt track, or where a cyclist causes death or injury at any location, with a proposed sentence range of up to two years’ custody.
Sentencing Council member, Mrs Justice Juliet May, said: "Those committing motoring offences can cause death or serious injury to other road users and members of the public, and it is important that courts have appropriate sentencing guidelines that reflect the current laws when dealing with these cases.
"These can be some of the most difficult cases to sentence, where what might seem a fairly minor example of bad driving can have the most tragic and long-lasting consequences. It is therefore right that we provide the courts with guidelines that will allow them to take a consistent approach."
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